


A Brief Explanation of Latin Poetry

by Emeraldwhale



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Essay, Gen, Latin, not really an essay but idk what else to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23015248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeraldwhale/pseuds/Emeraldwhale
Summary: I'm going to start uploading my poetry to AO3, so I figured I'd post an explanation on how it works.





	A Brief Explanation of Latin Poetry

Titles

While some Roman authors have works with known names, (i.e. _Ars Amores_ ) this is not always the case. Some authors have works that are either unnamed, or have unknown names. In this case, they are known by the author’s name and a number. (i.e. _Catullus 64_ )

Meter

This is a big one. If you’ve ever read Shakespeare, then you probably have at least a basic grasp on Iambic Pentameter. (If you don’t know, it’s a five minute google search.) Latin has a handful of different meters, but I’ll only talk about two: Hexameter and Elegiac Couplets.

Feet

Depending on the meter, there are a set number of feet in a line. Where each foot is depends on which vowels are long or short. Long vowels are represented by a ‘-’ and short vowels are marked with a ‘ᴗ’. There are a handful of rules that determine what is long and what is short, but they can get a bit complex, so I’ll save that for another day. Most feet are either a dactyl or a spondee. A dactyl is the vowel pattern “long, short, short,” and a spondee is the vowel pattern “long, long.”

Hexameter

This is one of the easier meters to work with, and also one of the most common. Each line contains six feet, hence the name **hex** ameter. The first four can be any combination of dactyls and spondees, and the last two are always a dactyl then a spondee. I’ll use an example from Virgil’s _Aeneid_. (Line 5.723)

> Anchisae subito tales effundere voces:

If you mark the vowels and feet, it looks like this:

> [(Click to see the image)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAJpX4zGGI5NpcFtm-R04rtRBSbF5hbh/view)

Elegiac Couplets

Elegiac Couplets, unsurprisingly, come in pairs. The first line is the same as hexameter, but the second is a bit different. There are five feet, and the pattern is dactyl/spondee, dactyl/spondee, then a lone vowel. After that comes a dramatic pause, called a caesura, then dactyl/spondee, dactyl/spondee, and a single vowel. This may sound like six feet, but the two lone vowels count as half a foot each, so in total there are only five.

Elisions

Ancient Latin poetry was written with the intention to be read aloud. When a word starts with a vowel (or the letter ‘h’ then a vowel) and is preceded by a word that ends in a vowel (or a vowel then an ‘m’) the two words elide and become one. For example, the sentence “I love you” would be read as “I lovyou.” (Examples in English are a bit tricky, but you get the idea.)

Word Pictures

In Latin, the order of words matters much less than in English. Therefore, Latin poets would often create “word pictures” within a line. For example, the sentence “the snake’s mouth closed around the mouse” would likely have the words ‘snake’ and ‘mouth’ surrounding ‘mouse,’ as if they were closing around it.

Conclusion

I know it can be a bit tricky, but knowing this information can be quite helpful and can really help one appreciate Latin poetry. If you’d like to know more, [hexameter.co](hexameter.co) is a good place to start. Additionally, if anyone knows any mistakes I’ve made or has any questions, please leave a comment. I’m happy to answer to the best of my ability.

Pronunciation

Iambic Pentameter: _i-am-bik pen-tam-meet-er_

Hexameter: _hex-am-meet-er_

Elegiac Couplets: _el-lee-jai-ek cup-lets_

Dactyl: _dak-till_

Spondee: _spon-dee_

Caesura: _see-sure-a_

Elision: _ee-lih-sion_

(I don’t know how to write -sion phonetically, sorry)


End file.
